A Letter from Jesse J. Peirsol to T. B. Searight dated December 3rd. 1892—and found on p. 142 "The Old Pike" by Searight.

Dear Sir:

I have stayed over night with William Sheets on Nigger (Negro) Mountain when there would be thirty six-horse teams in the wagon yard, one hundred Kentucky mules in an adjacent lot, one thousand hogs in other enclosures, and as many fat cattle from Illinois in adjoining fields. The music made by this large number of hogs in eating corn on a frosty night I will never forget. After supper and attention to the teams the waggoners would gather in the bar room and listen to music on the violin furnished by one of their fellows, have a "Virginia Hoe-Down", sing songs, tell anecdotes and hear the experience of drivers and drovers from all points on the road. When it was over they would unroll their beds, lay them down on the floor before the